Karla's Cottage

A little dinner party

After all of the holiday entertaining, January was feeling a little flat without any.  Plus, while we had some gorgeous days here and there, I was busy repainting a couple of rooms and missed going for walks.  When it got cold again, I was done with the big jobs, and I really needed to get moving, the city’s activity center was closed due to the shortages of staff that everyone is suffering from now. I couldn’t go for an indoor walk when I was ready to.

So, I was feeling a tad down.


A party was just what I needed to beat the January doldrums!

To be extra festive, I made place cards .  Not that I cared where anyone sat, I just thought it would be fun to do.

Rich and Jim are both beekeepers, so theirs got honeybees.

I made a peach pie and marinated grouper fillets that Rich caught in Key West in some Caesar yogurt and breaded them with panko, flour, salt and pepper.  Then sautéed the fish in avocado oil and butter.  

As I was cooking them, I thought it looked like it needed something more, so I whipped up a lemon, white wine and caper sauce to go over it.  My first taste of it puckered my throat, it was so lemony, so I quickly added some chicken broth and milk.  

It turned out okay, but for a few minutes I thought my typical, making stuff up on the fly way of cooking might backfire on me, as my friends were eating their salads and waiting for the fish to be ready.

I did screw up the pie.  My glass pie pan broke, and I had to use a metal one.  I don’t typically time things, I cook til they look done.  But I was used to being able to peek through the glass to see if the crust was browned.

It was a bit doughy since I couldn’t visually check it.  I might need to become a cookbook/timer person if I keep making mistakes.  But I don’t take cooking very seriously, so maybe not.

The evening really was just what I needed, it is hard to feel gloomy with a roomful of best buds!

 

 

 

 

Another party!

It’s the season for celebration, right?

I have been making the most of it and doing every activity, party, gathering, fun thing I can think of.

And I was lucky to have some fun, local Peeps who could join me for a craft day.  My studio could use the laughter, it’s been a quiet place lately.

We had a luncheon, lots of snacks, and lots of fun.

I’d made up some little kits to work on.

And had a few other bits and pieces for projects.

And people brought their own things to make too.

Glue was flowing, scissors were snipping and it was so nice to have guests to share my space.

A Day at Good Juju was Good for my Soul

My friends have spaces at Good Juju, in the Old West Bottoms, and some times I get very jealous.

The years that I spent immersed in the junking world and selling painted furniture represent some of my favorite times.  

The estate sales!

Auctions!

Getting up early every weekend so I never missed a garage sale, and filling my van so full that I had to make a pit stop to unload in my garage and go back for more!

I loved the redos, the styling and arranging, the treasure hunts, even the sanding!

I loved every second of it all!

It has been ages since I moved onto selling smaller items online, or having a Birdsong shopping experience set up in my garage instead of renting booth space .  And honestly, I love doing those too.
But I haven’t had workshops or even managed my online Boutique since 2019.  So, when Beth and Angie invite me to hang out on Good Juju work days, I am happy to go in and soak up the atmosphere.

They know I miss the junker’s life and always encourage me to join in.

Beth even gives me a few areas in her booth that I can arrange however I like.

It’s always a wonderful day, with a picnic, lots of interesting things to unpack and set up, and laughs with friends.

Plus, I get to wander around the empty mall and explore some of the other luscious displays.

It’s even better at the holidays and puts me in a festive mood.

Why don’t I get a booth? Or update my shop? Or host another Birdsong?

I’m just kinda- eh, right now, I guess.

Between my husband retiring, losing my son, a knee surgery that was more stressful than expected and well, COVID, and quarentine, family issues, and travels, I just haven’t built up enough gumption to get back into working again.  

I would not say I am depressed, though of course I will be forever sad about Ryan.

I can’t imagine not falling apart inside when something strikes out of the blue to bring on that “oh my god, he is gone” feeling as if it is all just now happening.  The pain that sometimes dims but at others returns  and with a vengeance.

But I also don’t have an ongoing, overall depression.  I’m just sad and mourning.

I miss him.

So, I accept every invitation from friends, and invite people to get togethers myself.  I paint, I embroider, I do things for myself, for others, and for my home.  I write in my journal (blog) and putz around the studio, I bake, spend time with Sugarwings, walk with my husband and dogs, and travel.

I’m just not ready to go back to work yet.  Even if I miss the hustley, bustley fun and the treasures.

A day helping at Good Juju makes me feel like I am still part of that world, and not getting too rusty with my junker skills.  Will I go back to buying, collecting, selling, and then buying, buying, buying, and collecting with a bit more selling, again?

I’d like to think so.

In the meantime, I am lucky to have friends that include me.  And that I can take my time until I am ready to face working again.  I am still stockpiling goods for my Boutique, and will eventually have a clearance sale there to clean up before restocking.  I have kept it open and and also lucky that I sell enough past online tutorials to pay all of my blog and website fees, so that I don’t feel pressure to shut them down.  

And if a good day of good junkin is just what you need too?  There is a bonus day for Good Juju to be open for the holidays, this Saturday.  I highly recommend a shopping trip there (and to the other cool shops in the area on first Fridays each month).

Reuniting

Way back when, in Jr High, these two became my people for life.  They both moved to different coasts while I settled in the center of the country, but over the years, we have met up when we could and it always felt like it had been days not years in between.

They indulged my need to go to our high school reunion, even though they had many other suggestions for places we could have a mini reunion instead.  

It was a quick trip, but conversation never lagged, and it was fun to see our other classmates as well.

Sandy brought some old photos, here we are at a past reunion.  (I think I still have that dress, I should look for it.  In my opinion, if you love something, it doesn’t go out of style)

As a matter of fact, I’d wear this “vintage” dress from my senior picture again in a snap if I had it.  Looks like I have always had a thing for rose patterned fabrics, huh?

Thanks, Debbie and Sandy for such a perfect weekend and for being my lifelong friends!

And thanks to all the people who put the reunion together for the class of 76.  I sure enjoyed seeing everyone and loved having a reason to push me to come back home to Indiana.

 

 

A Lovely Day with Friends

Last week, I drove to Indiana for my 45th reunion and some sister time.  On the way, I stopped for a birthday party craft day for a dear friend.

Not only was it a fun day with buddies, great food (and pink cake!), plus making a sweet project, it was also a pleasant way to break up the trip.

The drive is about nine hours with stops, but I split it into two days starting with this gala get together.

Crafting pretty pumpkins, laughing with gal pals, and having a fancy luncheon was a perfect start for my day of travel.  I drove to two of my favorite antique malls after saying goodbye to friends, then a few hours further til it was time to take myself out for a crunchy, fried chicken dinner and grab some sleep at a Holiday Inn Express.

Too bad all days on the road aren’t that much fun.

These are the little gifts I wrapped up for the party goers.

Thanks again for the festive start to my vacation, Birthday Girl!

And thanks for sharing your big day with us.

A framed stained glass mosaic by Shanna- Thanks, Shan!

This lovely surprise was created by my good friend and Artist, Shanna Wagner.  I love everything she makes, but this one is even more wonderful because it is jam packed with meaning.

I can just picture his reaction, if he’d seen this.  He had an appreciation for artwork.  And for kind people.

The heart in the center is a fused piece she made in her kiln.

It is surrounded by roses, iris,  hydrangeas,

and two bluebirds of happiness!

It was made to fit this antique frame, that is just perfectly wonderful itself.

And it is created to hang either in a window to let the sunlight through, or on a wall, with lights behind it.

Ryan loved red roses and purple iris.  Funny, I’d known him forty years before I knew how much he enjoyed flowers.  We’d stop to look at them along our walks.  There were iris growing by the pond we liked to circle, over and over, and he commented every time when the purple iris were in bloom.

There was so much I learned about my boy in his last few years, I wonder what else I’d have discovered if I had more time with him?

Shan isn’t just generous with her art, she is with her time, home, and materials too.  She invites friends into her studio weekly to have a mosaic day.  Here is my piece in progress.

I saved the vases that flowers were delivered to us in after Ry Guy died.  I hope to cover them all in mosaic glass to use throughout our home and his apartment.  And I know that he would have said, “Wow, Mom, that is cool!”

While there is much I will never get to discover about him, I love it that I know enough to hear his voice in my head, picturing what I know he would say to me about something like these mosaics.

 

A memory book

When Ryan died, I cut up a canvas that hung on a wall of his apartment and turned it into a book cover.  Filling the pages of that book meant weeks of happy memories as I sorted through photos and wrote down stories.

There were also many slow tears dropped onto the paper.

And other times when the sobbing was so hard, I found myself needing to lay down on the cement floor of the studio, in the bits and pieces of fallen scraps and trimmings.

That photo album has become a treasured piece for me.

 Since crafting his book, two close friends lost family members too, and I made books for them.

And this week, I put together this album for another friend’s birthday.  

She lost her mom a couple years ago.  At that time, I wasn’t making these memorials, but after seeing their meaningfulness, I wanted her to have one.

Each book that I build is a mix of photos (usually taken from Facebook), blank pages to add more pictures later, note paper to write on, with pockets and envelopes to store tokens and trinkets.

I try to use colors and styles of paper that I know my friend will like.  



And each has some doodling type artwork inside.

Mostly simple flowers, vines, or other small sketches.

And each becomes, almost a meditation for me as I assemble it.

I take time to think about the people in the photos, and feel their happiness and their loss.

Constructing these books has been good for me, an exercise in caring and time to lose myself in being creative.

Sadly, I have one more to make, and wish that there wasn’t a reason to need another one.

But since there is, I hope that the art journal can bring some comfort.

 

 

 

Birthday goodness

With puppies coming on my birthday, I have been completely absorbed in furry, cuddly fun.  And I forgot to show a couple of beautiful birthday gifts that I was honored to get.   I have a painting from Clover, that I am calling, “Our Lady of the Swans” and have her displayed with the Swans from Lesa’s class at our last arty gathering here before the pandemic struck.

The teeny swan was an adornment on top of this overflowing box of delight from my pal, Angie.

Not only is the old, glass box beautiful with its vintage ribbon and silk rose trim, it is filled with timeless treasures.

See what I mean?  Filled to the brim with lovely packages, too pretty to open (but I did!)

There were layers of Good Stuff supplies inside that I can’t wait to use, but haven’t yet due to my fuzzy, little friends.

I did pull out some of the frothy, lace hankies to show off on a couple puppies.  
This tiny, black pup took on an RBG vibe, didn’t she?

And Miss Daisy looks like a doll baby.

Speaking of dolls, my sweet grand fairy, Clover was so thoughtful to share her artwork with me.  That kid has skills!

Before I know it, my time with the babies will be gone and I’ll have plenty of time for crafting.  It will be heart wrenching to see them go, so it is helpful to have such delicious goodies to delve into once they are gone, to take my mind off missing them.

 

 

 

Road Trippin’ with Junkin’ and Craftin’

My friend, Angie, invited Beth and I to visit the old farmhouse her grandma lived in.

She and her mom have been restoring it for years.  

It’s a great mix of original pieces and beloved collections. (Angie had the very old, still functioning fridge stocked with deliciousness for us)

The drive south was as much fun as the staycation itself.  We hit every thrift store between Lawrence and Chanute.

And got photos of the most unique offerings.  

While making some friends along the way.

And eating some of the freshest home cooking you could ever be lucky enough to find at a roadside cafe.

At one stop, there were baskets of $1 packets of old lace. I bought more than my fair share, but couldn’t stop thinking about them so stopped on the way home to buy more.

Beth happened to bring craft supplies too, and shared her 1800s era quilt pieces for us to embellish with some things we found along the way.

Impromptu creations made with just what you have with you can be an inspiring challenge.  We all managed to get a few pretties done.

But mostly we just laughed. And then laughed some more. Then we ate and drank wine and did more laughing.

It was perfect!

 

 

Appreciating Something Normal

We had company!  Our friends are now vaccinated and we celebrated together with a pitch in BUFFET style meal!

No more fixing an individual plate for each person, we actually all stood NEAR each other, WITHOUT masks, INDOORS, and fixed our plates.

Then, why does my dining room look so empty?  Well, for one thing, we were so busy catching up, then pour painting that I didn’t remember to take photos of the group.  

Another reason is that, I was excited to have a reason to clean my house and took pictures before people came over.

During the first half of quarentine, I found myself organizing and cleaning a lot.  My drawers and closets were impeccable.  

But after a while of no one coming inside, I kind of let things become sloppy around the edges.  It was very nice to have a reason to care about how things looked again.

Also, there are still reminders of the pandemic everywhere.  Such as having a new dishwasher on back order for  six months.  

But you know what?  That doesn’t phase me at all.  That might have been something that would piss me off pre-pandemic or at least be something to whine about.  But now? Small potatoes!  I had my friends coming over, and things like dishwasher delivery being delayed is not the sort of thing to upset me after what 2020 delivered to the world.

Instead of having a sit down dinner with a set table, we filled our paper plates and went outside to enjoy a beautiful, spring day.

My goal is to appreciate what I have, not complain about what I don’t.  We have all lost so much.